Of A Deer Flower
by Tymeless-Moment
Summary: Lily Evans hated James Potter, although he had never quite felt the same. 7th Year rolls about, and they're forced to work together as Head students of the school. Can they conquer their conflicting emotions? Not original, I know, but give it a chance...
1. How She Loves to Hate Me

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the other lovely characters JK Rowling has invented. But they're oh so fun to play with.

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Warning: Might have some minor OotP spoilers, since I'm basing this story on the chapter "Snape's Worst Memory" and also about Sirius's home life.

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Prologue: How She Loves To Hate Me

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September 1st, 1977

"Lily! Time to get up, honey! Don't want to miss the train, do you?"

Lily groaned, rolling over in her bed. "Coming, mum!" she mumbled, before promptly falling back to sleep.

_Ringg. _

Ringg.

Lily stuck a hand out from the folds of blankets surrounding her, slamming her fist rather hard on top of the alarm clock. She smiled at the blissful silence, letting slumber take her once more.

"Lily! Get _up_, you freak!" Petunia screeched, snatching her sister's comforter off her. Lily tumbled rather unceremoniously from the bed, landing in a -still sleeping- heap upon the floor. Petunia rolled her eyes at her sister's antics, before grabbing the pitcher of water that sat on her end table. 

Pouring the ice cold water on top of her sister's red hair, she was satisfied to hear a profanity tumble from Lily's mouth. "Good, you're awake. It's already a quarter to ten, and you know how long it takes to reach King's Cross Station."

Lily glared at her scrawny sister from beneath her sleep ridden eyes. "Why does the train have to come so bloody _early?!_"

Petunia snorted. "It doesn't come early. You simply are a freak who refuses to wake up, at any given time of day." She whirled around and left the room quickly, not wanting her sister's freakishness to rub off on her. What would Vernon say?!

Lily slowly rose, cursing the gods for giving her a splitting headache. Although her morning bitterness wore off quickly; she was going back to Hogwarts! Even though she loved the summers with her family (aside from the occasional fight with Petunia), Hogwarts was the place for her. She loved the magic that lined its walls, and the portraits that all seemed as if they should belong in St. Mungo's. She loved her friends, witches and wizards both, who made her laugh at their antics, and pranks. The only thing she_ didn't _love was James Potter.

Oh, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. She _hated_ James Potter. Her mouth formed into a scowl at the thought of him, as she mentally spoke the speech that all her friends had heard many a time.

_Potter. He's an egotistical, arrogant, intolerable prick. I despise him. He's rude, self-centered, and doesn't care about anyone aside from himself and the Marauders. He can never be serious, always playing pranks. I hate him. Oh, how I hate James Potter._

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"Oi! Prongs, time to get up!" Sirius nudged his sleeping friend, snorting when James reached out a hand to hit him. "Alright then, mate, miss the train. I'm going to go." He walked out the door, shaking his head in amusement.

James rolled over, not taking any heed of Sirius's words. _Sleep…_

"Mister Potter, it is time to get up. Master Potter is telling Binty to wake yous up, sir."

James reached out a hand, groping his end table until he found the item he was searching for. He pointed his wand at the house elf, his eyes still shut.

Binty mumbled a startled 'Eep!' and disapparated. James smiled, reveling in the absense of sqeaky elf voices. 

Sirius snuck back into the room, raising an eyebrow at James's current state. He was sprawled across the bed, drool coming from the side of his mouth onto his pillow. Sirius sighed, knowing it would do no good to yell at his friend; nothing short of a freight train would be able to wake him up.

He raised his wand, stalking stealthily over to where James slept, not that it made much difference. Whispering a spell, he watched in contentment as ice cold water fell onto James's ever messy hair. 

"Yeee!" James shrieked, his voice quite reminiscent of a girl. He shook his head, sending droplets of water flying everywhere.

Sirius jumped back, not very keen on becoming as soaked as James. "Hey, mate, watch the hair!" He sheltered the aforementioned hair protectively, retreating to a far corner of the room.

"What did you do _that _for?" James grumbled, as he picked himself up from the soaked bed sheets.

Sirius grinned impishly. "Well, Prongs, could anything else honestly have woken you up?"

James smiled, shaking his head in assent. "Guess not. But couldn't you have thought up something not quite so…wet?"

"Well, I _could_ have. Although, it wouldn't have been_ nearly_ as amusing." Sirius sauntered out the door. "Hurry up, mate, we only have around ten minutes to get to the station. And I want to try to Apparate!"

James yelped. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?!"

"We tried, Jamesie, we tried. It's physically impossible." Sirius called, his voice echoing through the corridor.

James scowled; he despised the nickname. His mood quickly lightened, however. _Going back to Hogwarts today!_ He beamed, throwing his possessions haphazardly into his trunk. The only object that wasn't carelessly placed was his broomstick, which he put reverently on top of everything else, cushioning it so it wouldn't be scratched, let alone broken.

Nothing could keep James down today. He was going back to what he considered his second home. He loved Hogwarts, if it was possible, even more than his own house. Everything about the castle was terrific; the moving stairwells, the talking portraits, the trick steps. He loved it all, not to mention his friends, the Marauders, and of course, Dumbledore. But above all else, he adored Lily Evans.

His mouth morphed unconsciously into a smile simply at the thought of her. He mentally went through his speech, the one his friends had heard too many a time. 

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Evans. She's a wonderful, beautiful, perfect girl. I love her. She's intelligent, pretty, and so very nice (to everyone but me, of course.) She's always so serious, never breaking a rule. I love her. Oh, how I love Lily Evans.

He sighed, smelling a sock to make sure it wasn't dirty. His nose wrinkled, but he shrugged his shoulders, stuffing the sock into his trunk anyways.

Now, if he could only make Lily love him, too.

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Author's Note: Well…what do you think? It's pretty short, I know, but it's only the prologue; the rest of the chapters will be quite a bit longer. Please review…it makes me happy! ^-^


	2. My Friends, My Enemies

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Disclaimer: I don't own this. I don't make money from this. I don't want you to sue me…please?

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Author's Note: Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! 

J.E.A.R. Potter, 

LilyEvansPotter4Ever,

Padfoots-Angellover,

Whitney,

It's A Riot

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Chapter Two : My Friend, My Enemy

"Bye Mum, bye Dad," Lilly said, her eyes prickling with unshed tears. She had done this for seven years, and she still wasn't used to parting with her parents. Now her sister, Petunia, was an entirely different matter.

She hugged her parents tightly and, because she had to, gave her older sister a quick peck on the cheek. "Bye, Petunia," she whispered, staring into the cold blue eyes of her sibling. Where had things gone wrong, anyway?

With a final wave to her family, she walked through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10, and into the bustling station in between. Her worries immediately melted away when she caught sight of the loud red train, and she beamed, receiving more than a few strange looks from passer-by.

"Lily!" She turned, eager to meet her friends after a long summer apart; since her friends were all from magic families, it wasn't worth the trouble to come in contact with them over the summer. She recalled the one time when she had invited Marlene over, and the screaming phone calls, bright purple cars, and levitating trunks that had followed. She shuddered involuntarily. No, it definitely wasn't worth the trouble.

"Marlie!" she smiled, hugging her fellow witch. They stepped apart, and were soon pulling their trunks onto the train; the rest of their friends would know where to find them later on.

Lily groaned as she heaved her heavy trunk up the last stair. Marlene was already ahead of her, saving them all seats in a compartment. As she finally got the trunk onto level ground again, she plopped herself down in the corridor, gasping for breath.

"Evans!" Lily cursed under her breath at the sound of that voice; it was _not_ someone she wanted to meet while in that particular position. In that position meaning that she was easily cornered.

She moved to get up. Too late, she thought, as two skinny legs came into her field of vision. Lily raised her head, giving the boy the full effect of her emerald eyes.

To her frustration, her glare didn't seem to deter the boy at all. In fact, it made him break out into a slow, lazy grin. Brushing back his ever-messy hair, James Potter spoke. "Evans…will you go-"

"No," Lily interrupted, as she rose from the ground. Pushing past Potter, she made her way to the compartment that Ezzie had saved. Over her shoulder, she called, "And I never will."

Satisfied, she opened the glass door, plopping herself down on the seat across from her grey eyed friend. Marlene raised an eyebrow. "Potter?" she asked, as if that one word explained everything.

Lily nodded. Her face suddenly brightened, and she sat straight up to tell her friend the good news. "Marlene, I made Head Girl!"

To her dismay, her friend merely acknowledged this with a nod of her head. "Well, did you really expect not to?"

Lily blushed. Even though everyone around her seemed quite sure of her abilities, Lily had been quite shocked when she received the badge in the post. "I wonder who the Head Boy is going to be?" she murmured.

Her friend's reaction startled her. Marlie's face went rather pale, and she dropped the book she'd been holding. "You mean you-you don't know?"

Lily shook her head slowly, even more curious than before. "Why?"

Marlene managed a weak smile as she responded. "No reason, Lily, none at all."

Lily laughed at her friend's antics. "For goodness sakes, Marlie, you look like you've just found out that the Head Boy is _Potter._"

"Ha. Ha…ha?" her friend forced out. "Well, er, we'll find out soon enough…won't we…?" she finished lamely.

Lilly narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but eventually smiled, brushing off her friend's strangeness. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was Fabian Prewett?" she sighed, gazing through the window pane dreamily as she thought of the athletic twin from Ravenclaw.

"It's not," Marlene said, so matter-of-factly that it caused Lily's attention to focus on her once more. 

"How do you know? Marlene…do you know who Head Boy is?"

There was no doubt about it; Marlene definitely avoided eye-contact when she answered. "Er…no.

Lily eyed Marlene cautiously. "Marlene…please, just tell me it's not James Potter."

Marlene opened her mouth to respond, then quickly shut it again. Looking at Lily, she shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

Lily let out a shriek, jumping up from her seat. "No! How in bloody hell did James _Potter_ make Head Boy?! For goodness sakes, he wasn't even a _prefect!_"

Owing to her shouting, Lily hadn't noticed the glass door slide open, nor the smirking face that leaned cockily on the door pane.

"What's the matter, Evans? I thought you'd die for the chance to work with me, the wonderful James Potter."

Lily turned slowly, her eyes glaring daggers at newly appointed Head Boy. Although, from the look on her face, it looked as if the school would be needing another Head Boy very _very_

soon.

"Potter. It's a mistake, obviously. The owl sent the badge to the wrong address, of course. You could never make Head Boy - not after all those ridiculous pranks you've pulled! Potter, you've broken the record for the most _detentions!_"

James grinned. "I know, I know. That _is_ my greatest accomplishment to date."

Lily threw her hands up in the air, growling in frustration. Pointing at James, she turned on Marlene. "This - this - _thing_ is what I have to work with for the entire _year?!_" she yelled.

"No need to sound so happy, Evans. Oh by the way, you never _did_ let me finish what I was saying before."

"I. Will. Not. Go. Out. With. You!" Lily interrupted, enunciating each word loudly.

James smirked. "You've gotten a bit arrogant, haven't you, Evans? That, shockingly, is _not_ what I wanted to ask you."

Lily blinked stupidly. Potter _hadn't_ been asking her out? But…that was always the first thing he said to her at the beginning of each year. "Then…what…" she said slowly.

James's smile got even wider. "Well, technically, I was asking you out," here Lily opened her mouth furiously, "whoa, there, Evans, let me finish. I _was_ asking you out…but not for me."

Lily stared at James, not quite registering his words. "But…then…who?" she finally managed to ask. It seemed her mouth wasn't working properly.

"Er…for, um, Sirius. Yes, yes, that's it," he answered enthusiastically, nodding his head as if to emphasize his point.

Lily gave him a distrustful look. "Does this mean you're not going to be asking me out every time I see you, Potter?"

James swaggered into the small compartment. "Why, Evans, do you _want _me to ask you out?"

Lily rolled her eyes; even if Potter _didn't_ fancy her anymore, he was still as arrogant as ever. "Get _out,_ Potter," she replied curtly, pushing him out of the room as she did so.

"Wait- you didn't answer me yet!" he protested.

"Potter. I would not go out with any of you. You are all arrogant berks, aside from, maybe, Lupin. Now, get _out!_" she again began nudging him out the door.

James obliged, but not before he said one more thing. "Oi, Evans, I almost forgot the reason I came in here in the first place. We have to go to the Prefects Compartment five minutes after the train leaves the station." He stepped gracefully out the door, giving her a little wave before he disappeared from view.

James walked down the narrow hallway, giving occasional grins to some girls that he passed. He made his way into the compartment that contained the Marauders, beaming.

"Jamesie!" Sirius called from his spot on the sofa, where he was reclined comfortably.

James gave him a glare. "Don't call me that, Padfoot. It's enough that my mum does," he shuddered, plopping down on the seat next to Sirius as he did so.

"So how did it go with Lily?" Remus asked, looking up from his book at last. 

James smiled. "Well, my plan's all set. She doesn't think I fancy her anymore."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "As if it's even _possible_ for you not to like Evans. So, what did you say to her?" he prodded.

James gave Sirius an impish grin. "Well, you see, I asked her out…for you."

Sirius's eyes widened in shock, and he sprang up. "Oi! I don't fancy Evans! Hell, I don't even _like_ Evans! I mean, she is quite pretty…but not nearly as much as…er, oh, bugger, I forgot her name again!"

Remus sighed, shaking his head. "It was Cindy, Sirius, _Cindy._ I honestly can't tell what all those girls see in you. You can't even keep their names straight!"

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "That's okay. They come back anyways."

"Can you teach me to get all those girls, Sirius?" Peter, who'd been silent thus far, spoke up, looking at Sirius with awe.

Sirius smirked. "Wormtail, my friend, it's not something you can learn. It's something you have to have," he said cockily. He focused his attention once more on James. "So, Prongs, explain to me again how me dating Evans is going to help _you_ get her?"

James opened his mouth to respond, then slowly closed it, frowning. "Well…there was a reason…now, if only I could remember it."

Sirius laughed, and Peter followed suit, although he looked quite confused. Remus shut his book, glowering at the rest of them. "I guess I won't be able to concentrate with all the racket you all are making."

James looked at Remus. "Honestly, Moony, you become more like my mum everyday." Dodging the book that Remus sent his way, he joined the others, laughing goodnaturedly. 

"Er…James, don't you have to be somewhere?" Remus finally asked, gazing at his watch.

James did the same, jumping up in surprise. "Cripes! I was supposed to be in the Prefects' compartment ten minutes ago!" He groaned. "So much for making Evans think I'm responsible." 

He flew out the door, leaving three very amused Marauders in his wake.

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Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait…I went on vacation for three weeks, where I didn't have access to the internet. And then…well, I felt lazy. So yeah. But here's the next chapter! Yay?

Review? Maybe? You can not resist the fierce pull of the review button! …Right?


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